I keep two worm farms, and recently I transferred some of the castings from the farms to our pot plants. Now, normally this makes our plants grow like crazy, and shoot out all kinds of new growth. What happened this time however is that several little tomato plants started to shoot out of the soil in the pot next to our established Kaffir Lime trees. A couple of weeks went by and then we started getting fruit! The seeds must have been in the worm farms for at least 4 months, it’s incredible that they were still viable.

Normally we can’t grow tomatoes because our courtyard doesn’t get enough sun. I’m loving the novelty of having tomato plants in our garden this year. Even if they don’t turn red I’m sure I’ll be able to make some kind of delicious green tomato salad or salsa with them.

Our lovely friends Fiona and Tarek recently got engaged, and had an party yesterday afternoon to celebrate.

We took along a little engagement present of some of my handmade napkins.

The fabric I used came from an estate sale that I went to recently. I’m guessing it’s probably from the late 60’s? It’s an amazing cotton print, the purple watermelon is so cool. I used an old sheet to back these napkins – that way they’re double-sided and they’ll last for ages.

Fabric napkins are perfect for picnics, dinner parties, and everyday use. We use fabric napkins all the time at home- we just love them.

I had a catering job yesterday. 12 people for breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea. Of course, although I took my camera with me, I managed to forget to take photos of most of the food I provided. Here’s what I did manage to capture:

The olive oil dough resting before being cut into Panini buns.

The cooked Panini buns.

You’ll just have to imagine them filled with Free Range Roast Pork, my home made Harissa, crisp Lettuce and fresh Tomato. Or Free Range Roast Chicken, Avocado, home made Basil Aioli and crisp Lettuce. Or Rare Roast Beef, Horseradish Cream and Rocket.

This fruit platter looked so pretty I had to take a photograph of it, even though it was all secured in plastic wrap. This platter accompanied a platter of freshly baked scones, home made jams and whipped cream. A very lavish start to the day.

Double chocolate and toasted walnut brownie.

A close up of the decadent brownie.

The afternoon fruit platter to accompany said decadent chocolate brownie.

If you’re in Sydney, and are interested in having me cater your next function send me a message or comment on this post.

The weather here in Sydney has taken a sudden dive. All of a sudden our picture perfect not-winter has turned on us, reminding me that this city does indeed have seasons. Albeit slightly irrational, fleeting ones.

I’ve been so cold this afternoon at home that I made a batch of these delicious cookies to warm the house, and our bellies.

I used Deb’s recipe for thick, chewy oatmeal raisin cookies. I didn’t have any raisins in the house so I subbed them for chopped dates, and subbed the walnuts for a mixture of pecans and macadamia nuts.

They’re so delicious, I hope there’s some left for Joh when he gets home….